Oculus-ASR Nanosatellite Ships Out!

Jun 19

Oculus-ASR Nanosatellite Ships Out!

Posted by: Brad King

After six years of development, hundreds of undergraduate student hours, and countless cans of Monster energy drink the Michigan Tech Oculus nanosatellite shipped out on June 15, 2017. This 70-kg satellite will be used as an optical calibration target by ground observers who will attempt to decode how it is oriented and whether or not it has deployed panel doors to change its shape. First stop is Kirtland AFB, NM, where it will undergo shake-n-bake environmental testing. Next stop is Cape Canaveral where it will be mated to the pointy end of a SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch vehicle. Final stop will be low-Earth orbit (ok – final stop will be a fiery plunge into the Earth’s atmosphere, but that’s years from now). Thanks to the hundreds of students out there in The Wild who contributed to this project and made it possible. More details here: http://www.mtu.edu/news/stories/2017/june/winning-satellite-launched-into-orbit.html.